Use of synchrotron-based FTIR microspectroscopy to determine protein secondary structures of raw and heat-treated brown and golden flaxseeds: A novel approach

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to use synchrotron Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (S-FTIR) as a novel approach to: (1) reveal ultra-structural chemical features of protein secondary structures of flaxseed tissues affected by variety (golden and brown) and heat processing (raw and roasted), and (2) quantify protein secondary structures using Gaussian and Lorentzian methods of multi-component peak modeling. By using multi-component peak modeling at protein amide I region of 1700-1620 cm-1, the results showed that the golden flaxseed contained relatively higher percentage of α-helix (47.1 vs. 36.9%), lower percentage of β-sheet (37.2 vs. 46.3%) and higher (P < 0.05) ratio of α-helix to β-sheet than the brown flaxseed (1.3 vs. 0.8). The roasting reduced (P < 0.05) percentage of α-helix (from 47.1 to 36.1%), increased percentage of β-sheet (from 37.2 to 49.8%) and reduced α-helix to β-sheet ratio (1.3 to 0.7) of the golden flaxseed tissues. However, the roasting did not affect percentage and ratio of α-helix and β-sheet in the brown flaxseed tissue. No significant differences were found in quantification of protein secondary structures between Gaussian and Lorentzian methods. These results demonstrate the potential of highly spatially resolved S-FTIR to localize relatively pure protein in the tissue and reveal protein secondary structures at a cellular level. The results indicated relative differences in protein secondary structures between flaxseed varieties and differences in sensitivities of protein secondary structure to the heat processing. Further study is needed to understand the relationship between protein secondary structure and protein digestion and utilization of flaxseed and to investigate whether the changes in the relative amounts of protein secondary structures are primarily responsible for differences in protein availability.